


Noel Moments

by A_Diamond



Series: Camelot Drabble prompts [6]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dancing, Domestic, Family, First Meetings, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Sappy, Wedding Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 08:33:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6147802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Diamond/pseuds/A_Diamond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles, timestamps, etc. in the First Noel verse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Age Old Reason for Joy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The love that burst into his chest at the sight felt remarkably like heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Camelot Drabble amnesty prompt: His
> 
> Takes place between _The First Noel_ and _Carol of the Bells_.

It had been nearly a year, but Arthur still had to pause, heart swelling unbearably, every time he came home and found Merlin waiting in the hallway, face shining with joy and arms full of an unfailingly giggling baby boy. Noel would squeal with delight and flail with chubby, grasping hands for his papa; Merlin would hand him off, using the exchange as an excuse for a sweet welcome home kiss.

It was disgustingly twee and everything Arthur had ever dreamed of.

So he couldn’t fight the slump of disappointment when he opened the door and only a dark, empty hallway greeted him. He resisted the urge to worry, because it wasn’t as if Merlin was there every single day, but it happened more often than not and it was always the brightest point of his day.

The house was still and peaceful, so although he called out a soft, “Merlin?” as he hung his jacket and toed off his shoes, he kept quiet after setting down his briefcase to wander down the hallway.

The kitchen was empty, as was the dining room. He found them, after checking Noel’s bedroom and the one he shared with Merlin to no effect, in what was ostensibly his study. His desk still sat against the wall beneath the only window, but the rest of the room had been overrun by colorful soft toys and squishy plastic nonsense covered in drool.

An overly large armchair nestled between two bookshelves in one corner, and in it slept a beautiful man with messy dark hair, prominent cheekbones, and even more prominent ears. A book of bright pictures and large words lay open on his lap; in the cradle of one arm, snuggled cozily against his chest, an equally beautiful infant—plump, rosy cheeks, the first wisps of fine blond hair—wheezed soft snores into his shirt.

The love that burst into his chest at the sight felt remarkably like heartbreak, welling up in his throat and stinging his eyes, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He didn’t know how long he spent there, gaze lingering on his family—his husband, his child, his whole world—before Noel stirred in Merlin’s embrace. The boy caught sight of him in the doorway and all his innocent sleepiness fell away.

He started to wiggle and bounce, screaming, “Puh! Puh!” and Arthur swooped over to ease him out of Merlin’s hold even as his husband woke and smiled, drowsy but content, and yawned out, “Welcome home, love.”


	2. In Dulci Jubilo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re awful at this.”
> 
> Dialogue only.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Camelot Drabble prompt: Dancing
> 
> Takes place before _The First Noel_.

“You’re awful at this.”

“Fuck off.”

“I mean really, really terrible. I didn’t actually know it was possible for someone to be this bad at it.”

“I said fuck off.”

“It might honestly be worse than your cooking, and how that’s possible I shudder to imagine. Though you haven’t sent me to casualty with broken toes yet, despite your many attempts, so perhaps it is a notch above the food.”

“I’m going to send you to casualty with something else broken if you don’t shut up and stop ruining the moment, you absolute git.”

“Nah, you aren’t. It’s your favorite part of me. You’ve told me you need it to survive.”

“Damn it, Arthur, I’m serious. Can’t you just let me have this?”

“You know, if I weren’t intimately familiar with your cock, I’d be reasonably sure I just married a girl.”

“Oh yes, that would be much better, wouldn’t it? It’s not too late. We don’t have to finalize the paperwork. You can find some bint with big tits and have a _real_ wedding for your _real_ marriage and, and—”

“Oh, _love_. Love, no. I didn’t mean it like that. You know the only reason I didn’t hit him was that Morgana got there first. To hell with him and his bigotry; you’re so much more important to me than any of his opinions. I **am** your husband. You’re mine. This is our wedding.”

“Damn right it is.”

“Come here, that’s right, sniffle all over my two thousand pound tux. I love you, Merlin. That’s what all this fuss was about, remember? So go ahead and have your girly moment, I’ll be here and I’ll never want anyone else. Big tits or big cock notwithstanding.”

“I can’t believe—fuck, can’t stop crying either, I’m a mess. I can’t believe you’re insulting my cock in the middle of trying to comfort me, you great prat."

“Of course you can.”

“God, I can. Weren’t you going to shut up and let me have my moment?”

“Yes, Mr Pendragon. Shutting up, Mr Pendragon.”

“I love you too, Mr Pendragon.”


	3. I Wonder as I Wander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Running headlong into Arthur Pendragon wasn’t the first time Merlin’s tendency to daydream led him to trouble, but it was by far the most disastrous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Camelot Drabble prompt: Perfectly Imperfect
> 
> Takes place before _In Dulci Jubilo_ (and _The First Noel_ ).

Running headlong into Arthur Pendragon wasn’t the first time Merlin’s tendency to daydream led him to trouble, but it was by far the most disastrous. Lost in contemplation as he hurried between buildings in his very first week of classes at university, he walked straight into something solid enough to hurt, but more mobile than a tree (which was the usual interruption to his walks back home). It gave slightly when he hit it, then a hand shoved him hard in the chest and sent him stumbling back as he pulled his attention back to his surroundings.

It was a some _one_ , rather than a some _thing_ , which made sense in the context of its—his—reaction to being walked into. That someone turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous bloke who immediately ruined the first impression his good looks bought him by snapping at Merlin before he could even apologize.

“Watch it,” he ordered, then turned to his friends and, like it didn’t matter at all that Merlin was still there, said, “Doesn’t anyone teach the first years their place anymore?”

And just like that, it no longer mattered to Merlin that he’d originally been in the wrong. Yes, he’d been a bit distracted, but he had a lot going on and the guy ought to have known that, since he pegged Merlin as a first year. There was no need to be an ass about it.

“Why don’t _you_ watch where _you’re_ going?” he shot back, distracting the older students from their self-congratulatory superiority bullshit. They turned back to him as a group, making various forms of offended noises and expressions, but the man Merlin had run into, obviously their leader, was the one to speak.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, you should watch where you’re going. I mean, you could’ve just as easily stepped aside as me, but you and your friends seem to think you’re entitled to the whole walkway. Then when someone inevitably runs into you, you go and act like a condescending clotpole about it? I don’t think it’s us first years who need lessons on manners.”

He only became aware of the crowd they’d gathered when they started jeering and cat-calling, and he wasn’t at all sure whose side they were on but he knew from the look on the bloke’s face that he’d made himself an enemy.

Merlin sighed to himself and decided the fight would be worth being late to class. It was just such a pity the man let his personality ruin an otherwise perfectly good body.


End file.
